Page 109 of Broken Wolf Heart
I bite my lip, wishing there was an easier way.
Charlie’s not a direct threat. He proved that when he got us the records we needed to expose Vincenzo’s laundering. But him showing up here isn’t part of the plan. Giovanni pack won’t accept him without knowing what he’s done for us, and I won’t call him out as a rat without his permission. But the fact remains that he stood by while Vincenzo had me kidnapped and held prisoner. He did nothing while I was forced to be a puppet caught between two men vying for power over this city. And he allowed his daughter to grow up in a city where her life was threatened daily if she didn’t comply with whatever orders she was given.
Charlie isn’t a threat, but that doesn’t mean I trust him. I hope Mia can understand that.
In the end, I nod. “You can stay here until you go.” I glance past him to the dozen or so others. “What about them?”
“It’s all I could gather on short notice,” he says. “They want to swear loyalty to you.”
I blink. “They’ll renounce Vincenzo as their alpha?”
Charlie’s eyes spark with something like hope, and hespeaks loud enough for everyone to hear. “They want a new leader. A better future for their children.”
For some reason, Grey snarls at that.
I glance at him, and my chest tightens.
His pupils are blown wide, his wolf too close to the surface. His hands shake at his sides, and his entire body vibrates with the kind of rage that only comes from too much buried power.
“Grey,” I say quietly.
“They are … my enemy,” he says in a strained voice.
Shit.
He’s not going to last long with this many of his father’s pack members breathing his air.
Behind him, the others nod at Charlie’s words.
“We swear our loyalty to the high alpha,” the woman says, voice shaking.
The others echo her words.
It’s great news. Exactly what I wanted. For the city to turn. For the ones hiding in Vincenzo’s shadow to see the light and choose differently. Choosegood.
But Grey is unraveling beside me.
His fingers dig into my arm suddenly, breath ragged.
“Don’t trust them,” he grits out.
“They’re not lying,” I say. “I can feel it.”
The alpha power inside me swells as they declare themselves my pack. Their intentions are pure, their words true.
But Grey’s wolf is beyond reason.
“I need to leave,” he grits out. “Lex?—”
“I know,” I whisper. I turn, cupping his face, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Go home. I’ll meet you there when I can.”
His gaze flickers at the word “home,” and at least I know he understands my meaning.
“I can’t leave you alone,” he says.
“I’m not alone. I’ll have my pack and yours.”
Charlie makes a sound of surprise at that, but I focus solely on Grey.
